An elevator comprises typically an elevator car, an elevator shaft, a machine room, lifting machinery, ropes, and a counter weight. The elevator car is positioned within a sling that supports the elevator car. The lifting machinery comprises a sheave, a machinery brake and an electric motor for rotating the sheave. The lifting machinery moves the car in a vertical direction upwards and downwards in the vertically extending elevator shaft. The ropes connect the sling and thereby also the car via the sheave to the counter weight. The sling is further supported with gliding means on guide rails extending in the vertical direction in the shaft. The gliding means can comprise rolls rolling on the guide rails or gliding shoes gliding on the guide rails when the elevator car is mowing upwards and downwards in the elevator shaft. The guide rails are supported with fastening brackets on the side wall structures of the elevator shaft. The gliding means engaging with the guide rails keep the car in position in the horizontal plane when the elevator car moves upwards and downwards in the elevator shaft. The counter weight is supported in a corresponding way on guide rails supported on the wall structure of the shaft. The elevator car transports people and/or goods between landings arranged along the height of the shaft. The elevator shaft can be formed so that the wall structure is formed of solid walls or so that the wall structure is formed of an open steel structure.
The elevator car comprises a floor, a ceiling, a front wall and at least one further wall. The front wall and the at least one further wall extends between the floor and the ceiling. At least the front wall is provided with an opening and an elevator car door arrangement providing a passage for passengers and/or goods into and out of the elevator car. There is further an elevator landing door arrangement at each landing providing a passage for passengers and/or goods from the landing into the elevator car and from the elevator car into the landing.
The car door arrangement and the landing door arrangement may be based on a centre opening car door or on a side opening car door. A centre opening car door may comprise two or more elevator door panels opening from the centre in opposite directions outwards towards opposite sides of the elevator shaft. A side opening car door may comprise one or more elevator door panels opening in the same direction towards one side of the elevator shaft. The elevator door panels in a centre opening car door may move beyond the side to side width of the elevator car when they are opened. The elevator door panels in a side opening car door may also move beyond the side to side width of the elevator car. Additional space is thus required in the elevator shaft beyond the side to side width of the elevator car for the car door arrangement and/or the landing door arrangement.
Elevator door panels are in prior art solutions normally made of a steel frame and steel plates attached to the steel frame. The elevator door panels are thus rigid and rather heavy. The heavy elevator door panels require a rigid top rack for supporting the door panels. The elevator door panels may be suspended with rollers from a door guide rail in the top racket. The door guide rail may be a C-shaped guide rail with the opening in the C directed downwards. A glider with a frame having a pair of rollers attached to side surfaces at the front and at the back of the frame and a support bracket protruding downwards between the rollers and out of the opening in the C-shaped door guide rail may be used. The elevator door panel may be attached to the support bracket. The rollers may be situated within the C-shaped door guide rail and roll on the inner surfaces of the C-shaped door guide rail on both sides of the opening in the C.